Wiring with external terminal

ABSTRACT

Apparatuses for providing external terminals of a semiconductor device are described. An example apparatus includes: a connection wiring of a ring-shape having comprising a hole and a conductive layer surrounding the hole, the conductive layer including a first connection point and a second connection point that are located so that a straight line between the first connection point and the second connection point crosses over the hole; an external terminal coupled to the first connection point of the conductive layer of the connection wiring; and an internal circuit coupled to the second connection point of the conductive layer of the connection wiring.

BACKGROUND

High data reliability, high speed of memory access, and reduced chipsize are features that are demanded from semiconductor memory.

In recent years, there has been an effort to reduce an area of aperipheral circuit region that is occupied by peripheral circuitryincluded on a semiconductor die of a memory device. For example, U.S.Pat. No. 6,151,257 describes an electronic circuit die including aplurality of first and second input/output pad buffer cells, where oneof the first input/output buffer cells includes at least a latch forlatching data signals and one of the second input/output pad buffercells includes a pad that receives clock signal which are supplied tothe latches of the first I/O pad buffer cells. As a result of thisdesign, the conductive traces between the latches and the core logicneed not be precisely matched, thus reducing cost. Another example isU.S. Pat. No. 7,023,742, which describes a semiconductor device and amethod for inputting and outputting data simultaneously through a singlepad. The semiconductor device includes an output buffer and an inputbuffer, and further includes first and second switching circuits.Another example is U.S. patent application publication 2007/0253267 A1,that describes a semiconductor device including a shared sense amplifierportion that has a driver transistor implemented by a ring-shaped gateelectrode. Thus, the shared sense amplifier portion can be effective inthe chip size reduction while an unbalance due to Kink effect can bereduced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of circuits around external terminals.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of circuits around external terminalsaccording to the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing variations of wirings withexternal terminals.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a semiconductor device in accordance withthe present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing variations of wirings withexternal terminals according to the present disclosure.

FIGS. 6A-6D are schematic diagrams of variations of wirings withexternal terminals according to the present disclosure.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are schematic diagrams of wirings with an externalterminal according to the present disclosure.

FIGS. 8A-8C are circuit diagrams of variations of wirings with externalterminals according to the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

High data reliability, high speed of memory access, and reduced chipsize are features that are demanded from semiconductor memory. Reducingan area of a peripheral circuit region may be effective in reducing thechip size. FIG. 1 shows an example of area reduction of a peripheralcircuit region 100. As shown in FIG. 1, the area reduction of theperipheral circuit region 100 may result in a larger height of a voltagedriver for an internal voltage (VPERI) 101. The larger height of theVPERI driver 101 on bonding pads 102 of the peripheral circuit region100 may consequently cause gaps between read/write bus interfaces (GBUSI/Fs) 103 and inputs/outputs (DQs) 105 while having external powersupply voltage generators (VGENs) 104 aligned with the VPERI driver 101.In order to prevent such gaps, it is possible to shift the position ofcircuits including the inputs/outputs (DQs) 105 and the external powersupply voltage generators (VGENs) 104 relative to the pads. FIG. 2 is aschematic diagram of circuits around external terminals including suchshifted pads according to the present disclosure. The upper schematicdiagram of FIG. 2 shows the increased height of the VPERI drivers. Byshifting the circuits, the areas for VPERI drivers are increased and anincrease in the height of VPERI drivers may not be required. Theincreased area for the VPERI drivers is shown in FIG. 2 as arrows 210,and the unnecessary increase in height is shown as arrows 220. However,shifting the circuits may cause different shapes of circuitrycomponents, such as wiring, that couples a DQ block to a respective padas shown in the lower schematic diagram of FIG. 2. For example, a firstoutput buffer (outtr) 240 a is arranged diagonal to a firstelectrostatic discharge protection (ESD) circuit 230 a. A second outputbuffer 240 b is slightly shifted from a second ESD circuit 230 b. Athird output buffer 240 c and a third ESD circuit 230 c are aligned.Thus, an actual distance between an output buffer and a respective ESDcircuit may be different across combinations of the output buffer andthe respective ESD circuit. FIG. 3 shows schematic diagrams ofvariations of an apparatus including a connection wiring coupling anexternal terminal (e.g., “pad”) to a circuitry node of a DQ block. Awiring should be designed in a manner that the wiring is durable againstmean-time to failure (MTTF). For example, the size of the wiring may bebased, at least in part, on an amount of current to flow between the DQblock and the pad. A second wiring 302 is one variation based on a firstwiring 301. The second wiring 302 has a lower resistance compared with aresistance of the first wiring 301 because of the shorter distancebetween the pad and the DQ block. In order to keep the same resistancein comparison to the first wiring 301, other dimensions of the wiringmay he reduced in addition to having a shorter distance, as shown for athird wiring 303. As shown by the third wiring 303, a width of thewiring may be reduced. However, these reduced dimensions may result in awiring that does not meet required durability against the MTTF. Anotherwiring variation between the pad and the DQ block which may have thesame resistance as the first wiring 301 and meet required durabilityagainst the MTTF is shown with reference to a fourth wiring 304.However, the fourth wiring 304 results in more wiring area, which isundesirable. Thus it may be difficult to design wiring for differentdistances between the DQ block and the pad that have similar parasiticresistance and capacitance (to provide similar propagation delaycharacteristics) while satisfying the MTTF for durability.

Various embodiments of the present invention will be explained below indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The followingdetailed description refers to the accompanying drawings that show, byway of illustration, specific aspects and embodiments in which thepresent invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described insufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice thepresent invention. Other embodiments may be utilized, and structure,logical and electrical changes may be made without departing from thescope of the present invention. The various embodiments disclosed hereinare not necessary mutually exclusive, as some disclosed embodiments canbe combined with one or more other disclosed embodiments to form newembodiments.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a semiconductor device in accordance withone embodiment of the present disclosure. The semiconductor device 10may be a DDR4 SDRAM integrated into a single semiconductor chip, forexample. The semiconductor device 10 may be mounted on an externalsubstrate 2 that is a memory module substrate, a mother board or thelike. The external substrate 2 employs an external resistor R_(ZQ) thatis connected to a calibration terminal ZQ 27 of the semiconductor device10. The external resistor R_(ZQ) is a reference impedance of a ZQcalibration circuit 38. In the present embodiment, the external resistorR_(ZQ) is coupled to a ground potential.

As shown in FIG. 4, the semiconductor device 10 includes a memory cellarray 11. The memory cell array 11 includes a plurality of banks, eachbank including a plurality of word lines WL, a plurality of bit linesBL, and a plurality of memory cells MC arranged at intersections of theplurality of word lines WL and the plurality of bit lines BL. Theselection of the word line WL is performed by a row decoder 12 and theselection of the bit line BL is performed by a column decoder 13. Senseamplifiers 18 are coupled to corresponding bit lines BL and connected tolocal I/O line pairs LIOT/B. Local IO line pairs LIOT/B are connected tomain IO line pairs MIOT/B via transfer gates TG 19 which function asswitches.

Turning to the explanation of a plurality of external terminals includedin the semiconductor device 10, the plurality of external terminalsincludes address terminals 21, command terminals 22, clock terminals 23,data terminals 24, power supply terminals 25 and 26, and the calibrationterminal ZQ 27. An input signal block 41 may include the addressterminals 21, the command terminals 22 and the clock terminals 23 mayinclude input buffers that will be later described, according to oneembodiment. A data interface block 42 includes the data terminals 24.The data terminals 24 may be coupled to output buffers for readoperations of memories. Alternatively, the data terminals 24 may becoupled to input buffers for read/write access of the memories. FIG. 4shows an example of dynamic random access memory (DRAM), however, anydevice having external terminals for signal input/output may be includedas the external terminals of embodiments of the present disclosure.

The address terminals 21 are supplied with an address signal ADD and abank address signal BADD. The address signal ADD and the bank addresssignal BADD supplied to the address terminals 21 are transferred via anaddress input circuit 31 to an address decoder 32. The address decoder32 receives the address signal ADD and supplies a decoded row addresssignal XADD to the row decoder 12, and a decoded column address signalYADD to the column decoder 13. The address decoder 32 also receives thebank address signal BADD and supplies the bank address signal BADD tothe row decoder 12, the column decoder 13, and a switch control circuit14.

The command terminals 22 are supplied with a command signal COM. Thecommand signal COM may include one or more separate signals. The commandsignal COM input to the command terminals 21 is input to a commanddecoder 34 via the command input circuit 33. The command decoder 34decodes the command signal COM to generate various internal commandsignals. For example, the internal commands may include a row commandsignal to select a word line and a column command signal, such as a readcommand or a write command, to select a bit line, and a calibrationsignal ZQC provided to the ZQ calibration circuit 38.

Accordingly, when a read command is issued and a row address and acolumn address are timely supplied with the read command, read data isread from a memory cell MC in the memory cell array 11 designated bythese row address and column address. The read data DQ is outputexternally from the data terminals 24 via a read/write amplifier 15 andan input/output circuit 17. Similarly, when the write command is issuedand a row address and a column address are timely supplied with thiscommand, and then write data DQ is supplied to the data terminals 24,the write data DQ is supplied via the input/output circuit 17 and theread/write amplifier 15 to the memory cell array 11 and written in thememory cell MC designated by the row address and the column address.

The clock terminals 23 are supplied with external clock signals CKand/CK, respectively. These external clock signals CK and/CK arecomplementary to each other and are supplied to a clock input circuit35. The clock input circuit 35 receives the external clock signals CKand/CK and generates an internal clock signal ICLK. The internal clocksignal ICLK is supplied to an internal clock generator 36 and thus aphase controlled internal clock signal LCLK is generated based on thereceived internal clock signal ICLK and a clock enable signal CKE fromthe command input circuit 33. Although not limited thereto, a DLLcircuit can be used as the internal clock generator 36. The phasecontrolled internal clock signal LCLK is supplied to the input/outputcircuit 17 and is used as a timing signal for determining an outputtiming of the read data DQ. The internal clock signal ICLK is alsosupplied to a timing generator 37 and thus various internal clocksignals can be generated.

The power supply terminals 25 are supplied with power supply potentialsVDD and VSS. These power supply potentials VDD and VSS are supplied toan internal power supply circuit 39. The internal power supply circuit39 generates various internal potentials VPP, VOD, VARY, VPERI, and thelike and a reference potential ZQVREF based on the power supplypotentials VDD and VSS. The internal potential VPP is mainly used in therow decoder 12, the internal potentials VOD and VARY are mainly used inthe sense amplifiers 18 included in the memory cell array 11, and theinternal potential VPERI is used in many other circuit blocks. Thereference potential ZQVREF is used in the ZQ calibration circuit 38.

The power supply terminals 26 are supplied with power supply potentialsVDDQ and VSSQ. These power supply potentials VDDQ and VSSQ are suppliedto the input/output circuit 17. The power supply potentials VDDQ andVSSQ may be the same potentials as the power supply potentials VDD andVSS that are supplied to the power supply terminals 25, respectively.However, the dedicated power supply potentials VDDQ and VSSQ may be usedfor the input/output circuit 17 so that power supply noise generated bythe input/output circuit 17 does not propagate to the other circuitblocks.

The calibration terminal ZQ is connected to the calibration circuit 38.The calibration circuit 38 performs a calibration operation withreference to an impedance of an external resistance Re and the referencepotential ZQVREF, when activated by the calibration signal ZQ_COM. Animpedance code ZQCODE obtained by the calibration operation is suppliedto the input/output circuit 17, and thus an impedance of an outputbuffer (not shown) included in the input/output circuit 17 is specified.

FIG. 5 shows schematic diagrams of variations of an apparatus includingexternal terminals according to the present disclosure. As will bedescribed in more detail below, with reference to a first connectionwiring, shown on the left of FIG. 5, a semiconductor apparatus accordingto the present disclosure may include an external terminal 500, acircuit node 502 and a connection wiring 503 having a portion in a ringshape and coupling the external terminal 500 to the circuit node 502.The external terminal 500 may be a DQ pad. A DQ block 501 may be coupledto the circuit node 502. The ring shaped portion of the connectionwiring 503 has a conductive layer surrounding a hole 510. The ringshaped portion of the connection wiring 503 includes a first portion 504and a second portion 505. The conductive layer of the ring shapedportion of the connection wiring 503 includes a first connection point508 and a second connection point 509. The first portion 504 is coupledto the external terminal 500 at the first connection point 508 and thesecond portion 505 is coupled to the circuit node 502 at the secondconnection point 509. The ring shaped portion of the connection wiring503 further includes a third portion 506 which couples the first portion504 and the second portion 505 at a first end (e.g., left in FIG. 5) ofthe connection wiring 503 and a fourth portion 507 which couples thefirst portion 504 and the second portion 505 at a second end (e.g.,right in FIG. 5) of the connection wiring 503. The first connectionpoint 508 can be located anywhere along the first portion 504 and thesecond connection point 509 can be located anywhere along the secondportion 505. Generally, the first connection point 508 and the secondconnection point 509 can be located across the hole 510 from each other.However, the locations of the first and second connection points 508 and509 are not limited to being located across the hole 510 from eachother. A straight line segment defined by the first connection point 508and the second connection point 509 can be across the hole 510. In oneexample, the first connection point 508 may be located at the first endof the first portion 504 and the second connection point 509 may belocated at the second end of the second portion 505.

In another example, with reference to a second connection wiring shownat the middle of FIG. 5, a semiconductor apparatus according to thepresent disclosure may include an external terminal 520, a circuit node512 and a connection wiring 513 having a portion in a ring shape andcoupling the external terminal 520 to the circuit node 512. The externalterminal 520 may be a DQ pad. A DQ block 511 may be coupled to thecircuit node 512. Similar to the ring-shaped portion of the connectionwiring 503, a ring shaped portion of the connection wiring 513 includesa first portion 514 and a second portion 515, a third portion 516 whichcouples the first portion 514 and the second portion 515 at a first end(e.g., left in FIG. 5) of the connection wiring 513, a fourth portion517 which couples the first portion 514 and the second portion 515 at asecond end (e.g., right in FIG. 5) of the connection wiring 513, a firstconnection point 518 and a second connection point 519. In this example,the first connection point 518 may be located between a center and atthe first end of the first portion 504 and the second connection point509 may be located at the second end of the second portion 505.

With reference to a third connection wiring shown at the right of FIG.5, the apparatus may further include an additional external terminal530, an additional circuit node 522 and an additional connection wiring523 having a portion in a ring shape and coupling the additionalexternal terminal 530 to the additional circuit node 522. Similar to thering-shaped portion of the connection wiring 503, a ring shaped portionof the connection wiring 523 includes a fifth portion 524 and a sixthportion 525, a seventh portion 526 which couples the fifth portion 524and the sixth portion 525 at a third end (e.g., left in FIG. 5) of theconnection wiring 523, an eighth portion 527 which couples the fifthportion 524 and the sixth portion 525 at a fourth end (e.g., right inFIG. 5) of the connection wiring 523, a third connection point 528 and afourth connection point 529. The third connection point 528 may belocated at a center of the fifth portion 524 which is between the firstend and the second end of the fifth portion 524. The fourth connectionpoint 529 may be located between a center and at the second end of thesixth portion 525.

The ring-shaped portion in the connection wiring 513 and the ring-shapedportion in the additional connection wiring 523 are designed in a mannerthat the connection wiring and the additional connection wiring mayprovide substantially the same shape regardless location relationshipbetween the external terminal and the circuit node. For example, thering-shaped portion of the connection wiring 513 and the ring-shapedportion of the additional connection wiring 523 may have the samerectangular shape. Further, a first actual distance D1 between the firstconnection point 518 and the second connection point 519, such as theexternal terminal 520 and the circuit node 512, and a second actualdistance D2 between the third connection point 528 and the fourthconnection point 529, such as the additional external terminal 530 andthe additional circuit node 522, may be different. However, a shape ofconnection wirings having a portion in a ring shape between an externalterminal and an additional circuit node are the same. Thus, thering-shaped portion in the connection wiring may provide a simple designusing a plurality of connection wirings while allowing externalterminals (e.g., pads) and corresponding circuits (e.g., DQ blocks) tobe shifted relative to one another. The connection wiring may be used tofacilitate reducing the area of the peripheral circuit region.

As shown in FIG. 5, a shape of the “ring-shaped” portion in thisdisclosure can be rectangular, and is not limited to an annulus shape.For example, the ring-shaped portion of the connection wiring 503 mayhave an oblong shape (e.g., rectangular, rounded rectangular, oval,ellipse, etc.) or any shape which includes a hole and a ring-shapedportion. Similarly, it is possible that any pair of connection wiringshaving the same impedance can have the similar effect as long as havingthe same partial impedance. Any arrangement of connection wirings havingholes coupling an external terminal and a circuit node havingsubstantially the same impedance between an external terminal and acircuit node can be an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6A-6D are schematic diagrams of variations of an apparatusincluding external terminals according to one embodiment of the presentdisclosure. As will be described in more detail below, with reference toa first connection wiring, shown on FIG. 6A, a semiconductor apparatusaccording to the present disclosure may include an external terminal600, a circuit node 602 and a connection wiring 603 having a portion ina ring shape and coupling the external terminal 600 to the circuit node602. The external terminal 600 may be a DQ pad. A DQ block 601 may becoupled to the circuit node 602. The ring shaped portion of theconnection wiring 603 has a conductive layer surrounding a hole 610. Thering shaped portion of the connection wiring 603 includes a firstportion 604 and a second portion 605. The conductive layer of the ringshaped portion of the connection wiring 603 includes a first connectionpoint 608 and a second connection point 609. The first portion 604 iscoupled to the external terminal 600 at the first connection point 608and the second portion 605 is coupled to the circuit node 602 at thesecond connection point 609. The ring shaped portion of the connectionwiring 603 further includes a third portion 606 which couples the firstportion 604 and the second portion 605 at a first end (e.g., left inFIG. 6A) of the connection wiring 603 and a fourth portion 607 whichcouples the first portion 604 and the second portion 605 at a second end(e.g., right in FIG. 6A) of the connection wiring 603. The firstconnection point 608 can be located anywhere along the first portion 604and the second connection point 609 can be located anywhere along thesecond portion 605. Generally, the first connection point 608 and thesecond connection point 609 can be located across the hole 610 from eachother. However, the locations of the first and second connection points608 and 609 are not limited to being located across the hole 610 fromeach other. A straight line segment defined by the first connectionpoint 608 and the second connection point 609 can be across the hole610.

In one example, the first connection point 608 and the second connectionpoint 609 may have a distance around of the “ring-shaped” portion of theconnection wiring 603 in a manner that an impedance between the firstconnection point 608 and the second connection point 609 can becontrolled regardless of an actual distance represented by the length ofthe straight line segment between the first connection point 608 and thesecond connection point 609. These types of formations of the firstconnection point 608 and the second connection point 609 with regards tothe ring-shaped portion of the connection wiring 603 may provide animpedance between the circuit node 602 and the external terminal 600substantially the same regardless of an actual distance between thecircuit node 602 and the external terminal 600. Substantially the sameas used herein is not intended to mean that the impedances are exactlythe same. Substantially the same is intended to include a range ofimpedances. In some embodiments, the range of impedances may be within aquarter of the sheet resistance, as will be described in more detailbelow. For example, with reference to a second connection wiring shownat the middle of FIG. 6B, a semiconductor apparatus according to thepresent disclosure may include an external terminal 620, a circuit node612 and a connection wiring 613 having a portion in a ring shape andcoupling the external terminal 620 to the circuit node 612. The externalterminal 620 may be a DQ pad. A DQ block 611 may be coupled to thecircuit node 612. Similar to the ring-shaped portion of the connectionwiring 603, a ring shaped portion of the connection wiring 613 includesa first portion 614 and a second portion 615, a third portion 616 whichcouples the first portion 614 and the second portion 615 at a first end(e.g., left in FIG. 6B) of the connection wiring 613, a fourth portion617 which couples the first portion 614 and the second portion 615 at asecond end (e.g., right in FIG. 6B) of the connection wiring 613, afirst connection point 618 and a second connection point 619. Withreference to a third connection wiring shown at the right of FIG. 6, theapparatus may further include an additional external terminal 630, anadditional circuit node 622 and an additional connection wiring 623having a portion in a ring shape and coupling the additional externalterminal 630 to the additional circuit node 622. Similar to thering-shaped portion of the connection wiring 603, a ring shaped portionof the connection wiring 623 includes a fifth portion 624 and a sixthportion 625, a seventh portion 626 which couples the fifth portion 624and the sixth portion 625 at a third end (e.g., left in FIG. 6C) of theconnection wiring 623, an eighth portion 627 which couples the fifthportion 624 and the sixth portion 625 at a fourth end (e.g., right inFIG. 6C) of the connection wiring 623, a third connection point 628 anda fourth connection point 629. The ring-shaped portion in the connectionwiring 613 and the ring-shaped portion in the additional connectionwiring 623 are designed in a manner that the connection wiring and theadditional connection wiring may provide the same parasitic resistancefor the connection wiring coupling the external terminal to the circuitnode regardless variations in an actual distance between the externalterminal and the circuit node. For example, the ring-shaped portion ofthe connection wiring 613 and the ring-shaped portion of the additionalconnection wiring 623 may have the same rectangular shape. Further, afirst actual distance D1 between the first connection point 618 and thesecond connection point 619, such as the external terminal 620 and thecircuit node 612, and a second actual distance D2 between the thirdconnection point 628 and the fourth connection point 629, such as theadditional external terminal 630 and the additional circuit node 622,may be different. However, a first impedance distance L1 around aportion in a ring shape between the external terminal 620 and thecircuit node 612 and a second impedance distance L2 around a portion ina ring shape between the additional external terminal 630 and theadditional circuit node 622 are the same. When a shape and material ofthe second and third connection wirings are substantially the same, thefirst impedance distance L1 may determine a first partial impedancebetween the first connection point and the second connection point viathe fourth portion and the second impedance distance L2 may determine asecond partial impedance between the third connection point and thefourth connection point via the eighth portion. Thus, the first partialimpedance and the second partial impedance are the same.

As a result, the second impedance distance L2 based on resistance andconductance from the additional external terminal 630 to the additionalcircuit node 622 is substantially the same as the first impedancedistance L1 from the external terminal 620 to the circuit node 612,while the second actual distance D2 between the additional externalterminal 630 and the additional circuit node 622 is different from thefirst actual distance D1 between the external terminal 620 and thecircuit node 612. Similarly, a third impedance distance L3 in FIG. 6Dbased on resistance and conductance from another external terminal 640to another circuit node 632 is substantially the same as the firstimpedance distance L1, while a third actual distance D3 between theanother external terminal 640 and the another circuit node 632 isdifferent from the first actual distance D1.

Regarding a delay between a circuit node and an external terminal, theembodiments shown in FIGS. 6A-6D represent substantially accuratealignment of delays as compared with the embodiments shown at the rightand the middle of FIG. 5 which may represent misalignment of delays.Please note that the embodiments in FIG. 5 can still effectivelysuppress an amount of misalignment of delays as compared with variationsshown in FIG. 3. For example, while a shift of a position of aconnection point on a connection wiring may decrease a delay byapproximately 30% in FIG. 3, the same amount of position shift of theconnection point on a ring-shaped connection wiring may decrease a delayby approximately 10% in FIG. 5. Similarly, while the position shift ofthe connection point of the connection wiring may increase the delay byapproximately 30% in FIG. 3, the same amount of position shift of theconnection wiring in FIG. 5 may decrease the delay by approximately 10%.Thus, the ring-shaped connection wiring is effective in reducingvariation of the delay due to the position shift of the connection pointon the connection wiring.

Thus, the ring-shaped portion in the connection wiring may provide thesame delay between the circuit node and the external terminal whileallowing external terminals (e.g., pads) and corresponding circuits(e.g., DQ blocks) to be shifted relative to one another. The connectionwiring may be used to facilitate reducing the area of the peripheralcircuit region. While the actual distance can be varied (e.g. D1, D2,D3, etc.), an impedance distance L1, L2 and L3 between externalterminals and respective circuit nodes is constant. As a result, theconnection wirings of FIGS. 6B-6D may provide substantially the sameimpedance distance L1, L2 and L3 based on resistance and conductancebetween each external terminal to each circuit node, while obtainingvarious actual distances D1, D2 and D3 between each external terminaland its corresponding circuit node. Thus, the ring-shaped portion in theconnection wiring may provide substantially the same delay between thecircuit node and the external terminal while reducing the area of theperipheral circuit region.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are schematic diagrams of wirings with an externalterminal according to the present disclosure. In FIGS. 7A and 7B,ring-shaped wirings are made of material having a sheet resistance ρs.The ring-shaped wirings in FIGS. 7A and 7B have a width W, which may beabout the same as a radius L2 of connection points at 710, 712, 720 and722. R₁ is a resistance of first portions having a length L1. R₃ is aresistance of third portions having a length L3. R₄ is a resistance offourth portions having a length L4. R₅ is a resistance of fifth portionshaving a length L5 which is a sum of L1, L2 and L3. R_(c) is aresistance of each corner portion of a rectangular ring shapedconnection wiring.

In FIG. 7A, an electrical resistance R_(A) between a first connectionpoint 710 and a second connection point 712 is the sum of R₁, R₃, R₄ andtwo R_(c)s. The resistances R₁, R₃, R₄ and R_(c) and the sum R_(A) arepresented as follows:

$\begin{matrix}{R_{1} = {\frac{L_{1}}{W}\rho\; s}} & (1) \\{R_{3} = {\frac{L_{3}}{W}\rho\; s}} & (2) \\{R_{4} = {\frac{L_{4}}{W}\rho\; s}} & (3) \\{R_{c} = {0.5\rho\; s}} & (4) \\{R_{A} = {{0.5\left( {R_{1} + R_{3} + R_{4} + {2R_{c}}} \right)} = {0.5\left( {\frac{L_{1} + L_{3} + L_{4}}{W} + 1} \right)\rho\; s}}} & (5)\end{matrix}$

In FIG. 7B, an electrical resistance R_(B) between a first connectionpoint 720 and a second connection point 722 is the sum of R₄, R₅ andR_(c). The resistances R₄, R₅ and R_(c) and the sum R_(B) may bepresented as follows:

$\begin{matrix}{R_{5} = {\frac{L_{1} + W + L_{3}}{W}\rho\; s}} & (6) \\{R_{4} = {\frac{L_{4}}{W}\rho\; s}} & (7) \\{R_{c} = {0.5\rho\; s}} & (8) \\{R_{B} = {{0.5\left( {R_{5} + R_{4} + R_{c}} \right)} = {{0.5\left( {\frac{L_{1} + W + L_{3} + L_{4}}{W} + 0.5} \right)\rho\; s} = {0.5\left( {\frac{L_{1} + L_{3} + L_{4}}{W} + 1.5} \right)\rho\; s}}}} & (9)\end{matrix}$

The difference in resistance between R_(A) and R_(B) are presented asfollows:

$\begin{matrix}{{\Delta\; R} = {{R_{B} - R_{A}} = {{{0.5\left( {\frac{L_{1} + L_{3} + L_{4}}{W} + 1.5} \right)\rho\; s} - {0.5\left( {\frac{L_{1} + L_{3} + L_{4}}{W} + 1} \right)\rho\; s}} = {0.25\rho\; s}}}} & (10)\end{matrix}$

Thus, a difference in resistance between the electrical resistance R_(A)of the ring-shaped wiring in FIG. 7A and the electrical resistance R_(B)of the ring-shaped wiring in FIG. 7B, shown from the above calculation,is about a quarter of the sheet resistance. This difference inresistance is due to having connection points at the corners versushaving the connection points off the corners.

FIGS. 8A-8C are circuit diagrams of variations of wirings with externalterminals according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 8A shows an output buffer 813 coupled to an external terminal 811using a ring-shaped connection wiring 810 according to one embodiment.The ring-shaped connection wiring 810 is coupled to the externalterminal 811 and further coupled to a circuit node 812. The circuit node812 is also coupled to an output node of the output buffer 813. Thevariations of connection wirings 613, 623 and 633 previously describedwith reference to FIGS. 6A-6C may be applied to the coupling between theoutput buffer 813 and the external terminal 811 through the ring-shapedconnection wiring 810 for matching output impedance. Thus, theconnection wiring may provide impedance between the output buffer 813and the external terminal 811, having substantially the same impedancevalue regardless of positional relationship and actual distance betweenthe external terminal 811 and the output buffer 813.

FIG. 8B shows an input buffer 824 coupled to an external terminal 821using a ring-shaped connection wiring 820, according to one embodiment.The ring-shaped connection wiring 820 is coupled to the externalterminal 821 and further coupled to a circuit node 822, according to oneembodiment. FIG. 8B also shows an input buffer 824 having two inputnodes, a first input node supplied with a reference voltage and a secondinput node coupled to the circuit node 822. The ring-shaped connectionwirings as shown in FIG. 8B may be provided at the input signal block 41of FIG. 4. With reference to FIG. 4, a first set of ring-shapedconnection wirings may couple the address terminals 21 to the addressinput circuit 31. A second set of ring-shaped connection wirings maycouple the command terminals 22 to the command input circuit 33. A thirdset of ring-shaped wirings may couple the clock terminals 23 to theclock input circuit 35. Thus, ring-shaped connection wirings in theinput signal block 41 may provide substantially the same input impedancebetween input terminals in the input signal block 41 and theirrespective input buffers in input circuits in the input signal block 41,regardless of positional relationship and actual distance between theinput terminals and the input buffers.

FIG. 8C shows an output buffer 833 and an input buffer 834 coupled to anexternal terminal 831 using a ring-shaped connection wiring 830,according to one embodiment. The embodiment may be used where the dataterminals 24 are coupled to the input/output circuit 17 in FIG. 1 aspreviously described. The ring-shaped connection wiring 830 is coupledto an external terminal 831 and further coupled to one end of a circuitnode 832. The other end of the circuit node 832 is coupled to an outputnode of the output buffer 833 and a first input node of the input buffer834. The input buffer 834 may further include a second input nodesupplied with a reference voltage. Thus, the connection wiring 830 mayprovide output/input impedance between the external terminal 830 andeither the output buffer 833 or the input buffer 834, havingsubstantially the impedance value regardless of positional relationshipand actual distance between the external terminal 811 and the outputbuffer 833/input buffer 834.

Although this invention has been disclosed in the context of certainpreferred embodiments and examples, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that the inventions extend beyond the specificallydisclosed embodiments to other alternative embodiments and/or uses ofthe inventions and obvious modifications and equivalents thereof. Inaddition, other modifications which are within the scope of thisinvention will be readily apparent to those of skill in the art based onthis disclosure. It is also contemplated that various combination orsub-combination of the specific features and aspects of the embodimentsmay be made and still fall within the scope of the inventions. It shouldbe understood that various features and aspects of the disclosedembodiments can be combined with or substituted for one another in orderto form varying mode of the disclosed invention. Thus, it is intendedthat the scope of at least some of the present invention hereindisclosed should not be limited by the particular disclosed embodimentsdescribed above.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: an external terminal; acircuit node; a first connection point; a second connection point; athird connection point; a fourth connection point; and a connectionwiring coupling the external terminal to the circuit node and includinga portion having a shape of a ring, and wherein a first straight linebetween the first connection point and the second connection pointcrosses over a first hole, and the first and the second connectionpoints are a first distance apart along the first straight line, and asecond straight line between the third connection point and the fourthconnection point crosses over a second hole and the third and the fourthconnection points are a second distance apart along the second straightline, the first and the second distances are different, and wherein afirst impedance between the first connection point and the secondconnection point and a second impedance between the third connectionpoint and the fourth connection point are substantially the same.
 2. Theapparatus of claim 1, further comprising an output buffer which includesan output node coupled to the circuit node.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1,further comprising an input buffer including a first input node suppliedwith a reference voltage and a second input node coupled to the circuitnode.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an output bufferwhich includes an output node coupled to the circuit node and an inputbutler including a first input node supplied with a reference voltageand a second input node coupled to the circuit node.
 5. The apparatus ofclaim 1, further comprising an additional external terminal, anadditional circuit node and an additional connection wiring coupling theadditional external terminal to the additional circuit node, theadditional connection wiring including a portion having a shape of aring, the ring of the portion of the connection wiring being the same insize as the ring of the portion of the additional connection wiring. 6.The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: an additional externalterminal; an additional circuit node; and an additional connectionwiring coupling the additional external terminal and the additionalcircuit node, wherein the additional connection wiring includes aportion having a shape of a ring, and wherein the portion of theconnection wiring and the portion of the additional connection wiringhave substantially the same impedance.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6,wherein a first distance around the portion of the connection wiringbetween the connection wiring and the external terminal and a seconddistance around the portion of the additional connection wiring betweenthe additional connection wiring and the additional external terminalare substantially the same.
 8. An apparatus comprising: a firstconnection wiring of a first ringshape comprising a first hole and afirst conductive layer surrounding the first hole, the first conductivelayer including a first connection point and a second connection pointthat are located wherein a first straight line between the firstconnection point and the second connection point crosses over the firsthole and the first and the second connection points are a first distanceapart along the first straight line; a first external terminal coupledto the first connection point of the first conductive layer of the firstconnection wiring; and a first internal circuit coupled to the secondconnection point of the first conductive layer of the first connectionwiring, a second connection wiring of a second ringshape comprising asecond hole and a second conductive layer surrounding the second hole,the second conductive layer including a third connection point and afourth connection point that are located wherein a second straight linebetween the third connection point and the fourth connection pointcrosses over the second hole and the third and the fourth connectionpoints are a second distance apart along the second straight line; asecond external terminal coupled to the third connection point of thesecond conductive layer of the second connection wiring; and a secondinternal circuit coupled to the second connection point of the secondconductive layer of the second connection wiring; and wherein the firstdistance and the second distance are different, and wherein a firstimpedance between the first connection point and the second connectionpoint and a second impedance between the third connection point and thefourth connection point are substantially the same.
 9. The apparatus ofclaim 8, wherein an impedance between the first connection point and thesecond connection point is substantially constant regardless of anactual distance between the first connection point and the secondconnection point.
 10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the connectionwiring further comprises a first portion, a second portion, a thirdportion the third portion coupling the first portion and the secondportion at a first end of the connection wiring and a fourth portioncoupling the first portion and the second portion at a second end of theconnection wiring, wherein the first connection point is anywhere alongthe first portion and the second connection point is anywhere along thesecond portion, and wherein a distance around a portion of theconnection wiring between the first connection point and the secondconnection point is constant.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein afirst impedance between the first connection point and the secondconnection point with the distance around a portion of the connectionwiring is constant.
 12. An apparatus comprising: a first circuitcomprising: a first ring-shaped wiring; a first hole; a first connectionpoint and a second connection point on the first ring-shaped wiring; afirst external terminal coupled to the first connection point; and afirst circuit node coupled to the second connection point; and a secondcircuit comprising: a second ring-shaped wiring; a second hole; a thirdconnection point and a fourth connection point on the second ring-shapedwiring; a second external terminal coupled to the third connectionpoint; and a second circuit node coupled to the fourth connection point,wherein a first straight line between the first connection point and thesecond connection point crosses over the first hole and the first andthe second connection points are a first distance apart along the firststraight line, and a second straight line between the third connectionpoint and the fourth connection point crosses over the second hole andthe third and the fourth connection points are a second distance apartalong the second straight line, the first and the second distances aredifferent, and wherein a first impedance between the first connectionpoint and the second connection point and a second impedance between thethird connection point and the fourth connection point are substantiallythe same.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein a first impedancedistance between the first connection point and the second connectionpoint around the first ring-shaped wiring and a second impedancedistance between the third connection point and the fourth connectionpoint around the second ring-shaped wiring are substantially the same.14. An apparatus comprising; a first circuit comprising: a firstring-shaped wiring; a first connection point and a second connectionpoint on the first ring-shaped wiring; a first external terminal coupledto the first connection point; and a first circuit node coupled to thesecond connection point; and a second circuit comprising: a secondring-shaped wiring; a third connection point and a fourth connectionpoint on the second ring-shaped wiring; a second external terminalcoupled to the third connection point; and a second circuit node coupledto the fourth connection point, wherein a first impedance between thefirst connection point and the second connection point and a secondimpedance between the third connection point and the fourth connectionpoint are substantially the same, wherein the first ring-shaped wiringand the second ring-shaped wiring are made of material having a sheetresistance, and wherein a difference between a first impedance betweenthe first connection point and the second connection point and a secondimpedance between the third connection point and the fourth connectionpoint is substantially equal to a quarter of the sheet resistance orless.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the first ring-shapedwiring and the second ring-shaped wiring have substantially the sameshape.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the first ring-shapedwiring further comprises a first portion, a second portion, a thirdportion coupling the first portion and the second portion at a first endof the first ring-shaped wiring and a fourth portion coupling the firstportion and the second portion at a second end of the first ring-shapedwiring, wherein the first connection point is anywhere in the firstportion and the second connection point is anywhere in the secondportion, wherein the second ring-shaped wiring further comprises a fifthportion, a sixth portion, a seventh portion coupling the fifth portionand the sixth portion at a third end of the second ring-shaped wiringand an eighth portion coupling the fifth portion and the sixth portionat a fourth end of the second ring-shaped wiring, wherein the thirdconnection point is anywhere in the fifth portion and the fourthconnection point is anywhere in the sixth portion, and wherein a firstpartial impedance between the first connection point and the secondconnection point via the fourth portion is substantially the same to asecond partial impedance between the third connection point and thefourth connection point via the eighth portion.
 17. The apparatus ofclaim 16, wherein a first impedance distance between the firstconnection point and the second connection point via the fourth portionis equal to a second impedance distance between the third connectionpoint and the fourth connection point via the eighth portion.
 18. Theapparatus of claim 17, wherein the first ring-shaped wiring and thesecond ring-shaped wiring have oblong shapes.
 19. The apparatus of claim17, wherein a first actual distance between the first connection pointand the second connection point and a second actual distance between thethird connection point and the fourth connection point are different.20. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the external terminal is a DQ pad.